The Voice of the Support the Rail Passengers Association! • Bring in a new member today! Railroad Passenger! • Upgrade your own membership! RAIL PASSENGERS • railpassengers.org/join ASSOCIATION PASSENGERS Voice spring, 2021 Vol. 55, No. 1 Amtrak Turns 50! Passengers Reflect On The Grand Experiment, Five Decades In 2021 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of Amtrak, Philadelphia and New York). Rail Passengers staff and and—as has often been the case—passengers leadership will be sharing memories of the past and find themselves asking important questions about visions for the future all year long—so stay tuned! where America’s Railroad is headed. Rail Passengers Association (or, for those of you who have been with [Have memories of Amtrak’s first years that you us since the beginning, NARP) will spend all this year want to share? Send them to Madison Butler at attempting to answer that question, drawing on the
[email protected], subject line “Amtrak’s 50th.”] expertise and historical memory of our members and staff, both past and present “This certainly isn’t the 50th anniversary most of us Some may had in mind,” said Jim Mathews, Rail Passengers remember President & CEO. “As late as February 2020, we our original newsletter. were looking at yet another year of record ridership Here is and revenue and unprecedented bipartisan support an actual for service expansion and new equipment. Now, representation because of the pandemic, the global travel industry of an earlier is in turmoil and we’re working hard just to return issue from Amtrak and transit service to pre-pandemic levels.